Negm, who was born in the Sharqiya province in 1929, was imprisoned several times for his criticism of Egyptian leaders Gamal Abdel Nasser, his successor Anwar Sadat, and Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted by a popular uprising in 2011.

Negm, who wrote in colloquial Arabic, was also critical of the country’s first elected leader Mohamed Mursi, who was overthrown by the army in July after mass protests against his rule.